There was a strange tension in the air when Callan and I walked back into the room we rented at the inn. What had happened in Levi’s Court still hung silently between us. Like a curtain that both of us were reluctant to pull back, fearful of what we might find on the other side.
“So,” I began as I came to a halt next to the dresser. “We got our deal with the King of Metal.”
Callan closed the door behind him with a click, but he didn’t move farther into the room. Instead, he crossed his arms over his muscled chest and leaned back against the worn slab of wood.
I studied him. Studied the way he seemed to be clenching his jaw, as if bracing himself for something.
But all he said was, “Yeah.”
“Will he hold up his end of the bargain?”
“Yeah. Levi is many things, but… Yes, he’ll hold up his end of this bargain.”
Leaning my hip against the pale wooden dresser, I crossed my arms too before giving Callan a nod. “Good. Then we just need to figure out a way to kill this Trevor Gale guy.”
“We should start by scouting out his territory. See if we can find a way in.”
“I agree. But first, we need to visit one of those shops you mentioned that will open in the morning.” Uncrossing my arms, I gestured down to the riding clothes full of road dust that I was still wearing. “Because I’ll draw attention in these. And not the right kind.”
“You always draw the right kind of attention.”
A smile drifted across my lips at the way he had said it. Stated it so plainly, so immediately, as if it was a universal truth.
His lips quirked up as well when he noticed my smile.
It dispelled some of the tension around us, and I blew out a breath as I bent down to unlace my boots. Soft footfalls sounded, informing me that Callan at last moved away from the door and towards where his own pack waited by the desk and chair.
Once I was done, I used my now bare foot to push my boots aside while I straightened again. Over by the desk, Callan was unlacing his as well. I rolled my ankles and then grabbed the hem of my shirt, pulling it over my head. After shaking it out, I folded it up and placed it on top of the dresser.
My eyes drifted back to Callan. He had finished with his boots and was now removing his dark leather armor. I watched the way his muscles shifted when he draped it over the chair and then yanked his shirt over his head too, leaving him standing there in only his pants. Light from the oil lamp danced over his lethal body. It made the image of him kneeling in front of Levi flash before my eyes again.
“You got down on your knees and begged Levi not to hurt me,” I said into the thick silence.
Callan stiffened. For a few seconds, he remained frozen with his hands halfway between his body and the shirt he had placed on top of the desk. Then he slowly turned to face me. I was only wearing a pair of pants and a brassiere, but his eyes stayed firmly on mine when he finally looked at me.
“Yes,” was all he said.
“Why?”
“Because you don’t know Levi like I do.”
“You groveled—”
“It was the only way to stop him,” Callan interrupted before I could finish what I had been about to say. Once again, he clenched his jaw as if he was bracing himself for something. “You heard him when I called him Levi instead of sir. Just like any dark mage, he feeds on power and control. So doing… what I did… was the best way to give him what he wanted without…” He trailed off.
“You didn’t have to—”
“Look, I know that it’s not exactly the standard dark mage response, but you have to trust me when I say that it really was the only way.”
“I…” I trailed off as a sudden realization shot through me. Raising my eyebrows, I stared back at Callan. “Wait… Did you think that I lost respect for you because of that?”
Guarded hesitation blew across his features, and a frown creased his brows. “Didn’t you?”
“No!”
He drew back slightly and blinked at me in surprise.
Hell damn it, I wanted to hurl my boot at him. Was that why he had been so tense this whole time? I mean, I understood where he was coming from. All we had was our reputation, and power was our currency, so any dark mage who groveled at someone else’s feet normally lost the respect of everyone else. But how could Callan possibly think that those sentiments in any way applied to this situation?
“Then why have you been acting so tense?” he asked, confusion still marring his brow.
That time, I did almost pick up my boot and throw it at him.
“Why do you think?” I snapped. Shaking my head, I stared at him in disbelief. “You used to work for Levi, and now you’re a powerful dark mage in your own right. And instead of being able to come back and show him that, you were forced to humiliate yourself by begging on your knees. For me! For my sake. Hell damn it, Callan, don’t you resent me for that?”
A baffled laugh erupted from his throat. “What?”
My restraint snapped. Snatching up one of my boots, I hurled it straight at his bare chest. He caught it easily in one hand before it could hit. Amusement joined the confusion on his face as he arched an eyebrow at me.
“You didn’t have to grovel for my sake.” I shook my head at him again. “Not before him.”
“As if I would ever let anyone hurt you.”
His words yanked painfully at my heart, and I swallowed thickly. Callan dropped my boot on the wooden floor with a thud while I drifted over to stand right in front of him. For a moment, we only watched each other.
“I could have handled it,” I said softly after a few more seconds of silence.
“I know you could. But that still doesn’t mean that I am going to let anyone hurt you if I can do something to stop it.”
To be honest, there had been a part of me that had doubted if Callan actually loved me. Love wasn’t really for people like us. But after this… After he had endured the humiliation of groveling in front of his former boss for my sake, there wasn’t a shred of doubt left in me.
Clearing my throat, I tried to push down the emotions in my chest that were suddenly just too much for me to handle. “Yeah, well… Ditto.”
He let out a soft laugh. “You were so fucking hot, though.”
“Right,” I said, my voice dripping with irony, and glanced away. “I must have looked so cool trapped in his damn metal bands.”
“No.” He traced his fingers along my collarbone before drawing his hand upwards and taking my chin in a firm grip, making me turn my gaze back to his. “I only like you tied up and helpless when I’m the one controlling the chains.”
That drew a laugh from my chest.
“What I meant was that the way you handled Levi was so fucking hot.” His warm breath caressed my cheeks as he chuckled and then mimicked, “Ask me politely and I might tell you. Put that hand on me again, and I’ll stop your heart. Do you know how few people have talked to Levi like that and lived to see the end of the day?”
“Well, he was an asshole.”
Callan leaned down and breathed his next words against my lips. “And you were a fucking queen.”
A pleasant shudder coursed through my body. Reaching up, I locked my fingers behind Callan’s neck and pulled his mouth the final bit towards mine. He released his grip on my chin and instead wrapped his hands around my back, pressing me harder against his firm chest.
I kissed him deeply. Thoroughly. Trying to tell him all the things that I didn’t know how to say. All the things I felt. What his sacrifice today meant to me.
He held me tightly, answering every kiss as if he understood.
When we at last broke apart, we remained holding each other and just rested our foreheads together. I savored the feeling of his body against mine and his breath dancing over my skin.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“Thank you for having my back too. For stepping in and attacking when I lost.”
“Yes, well, I wasn’t about to let anyone hurt you either.” I chuckled against his lips. “Anyone other than me, that is.”
He laughed and then stole one final kiss from my mouth before releasing me. Raking a hand through his dark hair, he took a step back and then nodded towards the bed. “We should probably get some sleep.”
“Yeah, we should.”
Very reluctantly, I tore my gaze from that annoyingly handsome face and the enticing abs on display and then drifted back to the dresser. After stripping out of the rest of my clothes, I pulled out that large white shirt that I had gotten in the habit of sleeping in. At least during the times when we were staying at an inn and not out on the road where people could ambush us. It still smelled faintly of sandalwood and leather.
I pulled it on and then fluffed out my hair again before turning back towards Callan.
The look on his face made me freeze in place with my hands halfway down from my hair. His eyes burned with dark desire and a hint of possessiveness as he stared at me. I glanced from side to side while lowering my arms again.
“What?” I asked.
Shaking his head, he seemed to snap himself out of whatever had been going on in his head. “Nothing.”
“No.” I planted my hands on my hips and raised my eyebrows at him in challenge. “Why do you always look at me like that when I wear this shirt?”
For a few moments, he only looked back at me in silence. That burning lust was back in his eyes, and amusement played over his lips as he flicked his gaze up and down my body. Heat pooled in my stomach, but I kept watching him expectantly.
“Because it’s my shirt,” he said at last.
I blinked at him. Oh. Ohh.
Damn, I really should have figured that out earlier. It explained so many of his strange reactions.
Callan gave me a wicked grin and then dragged his possessive gaze over my body once again. I bit my lip, which immediately made him snap his eyes back up to my face.
With a sly smile on my mouth, I flicked my hair over my shoulder and then turned and sauntered over to the bed while swishing my hips far more than necessary. “Well, it’s mine now.”
His dark laugh rumbled from behind me. I could feel his eyes drinking me in when he at last replied.
“Yes, you are.”
